Straw-stacker



5 SheetsSheet 1.

(No Model.)

S. BUFKIN 8v 0 SNYDER.

I I STRAW STAGKER. No. 501,242. v Patented July 11,1893.

( Model 5 Sheets-Sheet 2. S. BUPKIN & G, SNYDER.

STRAW STAGKER.

No. 501,242. Patented July 1 1, 1393.

' (No Model.) I 5 Sheets-Sheet 3..

s. BUFKIN &- 0. SNYDER. STRAW STAGKER.

No. 501,242 IIIII H Patented July 11, 1893.

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i n/6142mm (No Model.) 5 sheets -sheet 4. S. BUFKIN 811' U. SNYDER.

STRAW STAGKER. I No. 501,242. Patanted July 1, 1893.

' Allllll" avwcnfow" (No Model.) 5 Sheets-=Sheet -5.-

S. BUPKIN &'G. SNYDER. STRAW STAGKER.

No. 501,242. Patented July 11, 1 893.

5 2 JIIIIJIIIHIIJtL-UJJIll ll ll lvl llllllll llllll v fm ww/ UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

SAMUEL BUFKIN AND CYRUS SNYDER, OF BATTLE CREEK, MICHIGAN.

ST RAW-STACKER.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 501,242, dated July 1 1, 1893.

Application filed July 23, 1891- Serial No. 400,428. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that we, SAMUEL BUFKIN and CYRUs SNYDER, citizens of the United States, residing at Battle Creek, in the county of Calhoun and State of Michigan, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Straw-Stackers; and we do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

Our invention relates to certain new and useful improvements in straw stackers, and more especially to that class wherein the novelty consists in the mechanism employed for raising and lowering the carrier frame and for swinging the same from side to side automatically, and is in the nature of an improvement upon the patent granted Samuel Bufkin upon the 13th day of May, 1890, No. 427,736. In said patent is shown and described a truck mounted upon Wheels and carrying a turn table upon which are mounted segmental racks, a folding carrier frame to the lower end of which are secured also segmental racks, and a double pinion meshing with said racks and provided with a crank and intermediate gearing by means of which the carrier frame is elevated to the proper position to deposit the straw discharged from the thrasher, and mechanism for automatically swinging the elevator frame from side to side to distribute the straw.

The object of our present invention is to provide improved means for raising and lowering the elevator frame; improved mechanism for automatically swinging said frame from side to side; to provide an improved elevator frame; and to provide certain other novel features, all of which will hereinafter be fully described.

To these ends our invention consists in the novel construction, arrangement and combination of parts hereinafter fully described and afterward definitely pointed out in the claims, due reference being had to the accompanying drawings wherein- Figure 1 is a perspective view of a straw stacker embodying our said invention, showing the elevator frame unfolded and partially broken away. Fig.2 is a side elevation of the same showing the machine in an inoperative position and ready for transportation. Fig. 3 is a side elevation viewed from the opposite side to that shown in Fig. 2, the ma chine being in position for use, a portion of the elevator frame being broken away. Fig. 4 is a top plan view of the turn table, the elevator frame being removed. Fig. 5 is a bot-. tom plan View of the turn table and a portion of the main frame, and Figs. 6, 7 and 8 detail views of portions of the elevator frame, and Figs. 9, 10, 11 and 12 detail views of the means for automatically shifting the elevator frame from side to side, and Fig. 13 an enlarged detail view showing in side elevation the segments and the means for raising and lowering the elevator frame.

Referring to said drawings 1 represents th main frame of the stacker, constructed substantially in the manner shownand described in the patent to Samuel Bufkin, before named. Upon said frame is mounted a turn table 2 consisting of an annular, interiorly cogged wheel having secured to the upper portion thereof or formed integral therewith a spider frame 3 carrying a circular band or wheel 4,

the turn table 2 being secured to the main frame and supported thereon by means of clamps 5 which are bolted to the main frame and embrace the periphery of said turn table.

Secured to the upper portion of the turn table 2 are two upwardly-extending and parallel segments 6, preferably grooved upon their peripheries for the purpose hereinafter described. I

7 indicates the elevator frame to the lower end of which are rigidly secured two downwardly-extending and parallel segments 8, 8, said segments forming the arc of a circle of greater diameter than that described by the segments 6, 6, the segments 8, 8, slightly overlapping the segments 6, 6, when the parts are in position.

9, 9, indicate lever-arms pivoted at their lower ends to the segments 6, 6, and at their upper ends to the segments 8, 8, said leverarms being preferably formed in the shape of a truss-brace and provided with brace-bars 10. J ournaled within said brace-bars 10 isa shaft 11 carrying at each end two drums l2 and 13 of unequal diameter.

Upon one of the outer ends of the shaft 11 is secured a cog wheel 14 which meshes with asmall pinion rigidly mounted on a trunnion 16 upon which is also mounted a cog wheel 17 which gears with a small pinion 18 rigidly mounted upon a shaft 19 having bearings in one of the lever arms and provided with a crank 20 by means of which the gearing described maybe actuated.

Mounted in bearings formed in the upper extreme ends of the lever-arms 9, 9, is a shaft 21 having rigidly secured thereon eccentrics 22 which are adapted to rotate within perforated lugs or ears 23 secured to the under forward edge of a tailer 24, the outer end of the shaft being provided with a drive pulley 25. Said tailer 24 consists of a table or platform having its upper surface provided with ribs or corrugations 26 and is supported in position by means of arms 27 pivoted to each side and extending downwardly and secured at their lower extremities to the leverarms 9.

28 indicates a shaft journaled within bearings formed in the lever-arms 9 and provided at its ends with pulleys 29 and 30, and intermediate its ends with pulleys 31, around which latter passes an endless carrierbelt 32.

The elevator frame 7 is composed of two sections 33 and 34 united by rule joints or hinges 35, the lower section 33 being provided with stationary side wings 36 and the upper section 34 having folding side wings 37 hinged to its edges by means of spring hinges 38, which may be of any suitable and well known construction, said spring hinges normally exerting a force to press the wings 37 inwardly, the side wings 37 overlapping at their inner edges the stationary side wings 36 and adapted to fold or spread outwardly when the two sections are folded up for transportation and automatically unfolded and assume an np-' right position when the elevator frameis unfolded for use.

At or about the adjacent edges of the sections composing the elevator frame are secured studs or pins 39 to which are secured the ends of a spring 40, said spring, when the sections are unfolded being compressed or bowed and operating to prevent an undue strain upon the hinges 35.

The center of the spider frame 3, carried by the turn table 2, is provided at its center with a hub 41 through which passes a vertical shaft 42 mounted in suitable bearings upon the main frame and provided at its upper end with a bevel-gear 43 which meshes with a similar bevel gear 44 secured to the inner end of a horizontal shaft 45 mounted in bearings 46 and 47, the bearing 46 being formed on the spider frame 3, and the bearing 47 formed in the lower extremity of one of the segments 66 and lever-arms 9, the outer end of said shaft 45 carrying a pulley 48.

To the lower end of the shaft 42 is secured a bevel gear 49 which meshes with a similar bevel gear 50 rigidly secured to a transverse shaft 51 mounted in suitable bearings upon the under side of the main frame and provided at one of its extremities with a drive pulley or crank shaft 52. Near one extremity the shaft 51 is provided with a worm-gear 53 which meshes with a cog wheel 54 rigidly mounted upon the lower end of a vertical shaft 55 suitably supported to the lower side of the main frame.

Rigidly mounted upon the upper face of the cog wheel 54 is a small bevel gear Wheel 55' which in turn meshes with a somewhat larger bevel gear wheel 56, mounted upon a shaft 57, secured to the under side of the main frame. Said bevel gear wheel 56 is provided upon one of its faces with a toothed clutch 58 which engages, when turned in one direction a similar toothed clutch 59 keyed to the shaft 57 but having a longitudinal movement thereon, and maintained in operative position against the clutch 58 by means of a spiral spring 60.

61 indicates the bifurcated end of a lever 62 which engages a collar 63 upon the clutch 59 and pivoted at or near its center between lugs 64 secured to the inner side of the main frame, its free end projecting through said frame where it is engaged by the end of a cam lever 65 pivoted between lugs 66 secured to the outside of the main frame, and by means of which the clutch can be thrown in or out of gear. The opposite end of the shaft 57 is made square or angular in crosssection upon which are loosely mounted two bevel gears 67 and 68 and between which is mounted a double clutch 69 adapted to be alternately moved into contact and engage with similar clutches 70 and 71 formed upon the adjacent faces of the bevel gears 67 and 68. Said double clutch 69 is provided at or near its center with a collar 71 which is engaged by the bifurcated end of a tripping lever 72 pivoted at its inner end to the main frame and provided at or about its center with an enlarged oval opening or yoke 73 within which is adapted to be moved from side to side a Y-shaped tripping dog 74, the opposite inner faces of said yoke 73 being provided with a recess 75, for the purpose hereinafter described. The tripping dog 74 is rigidly secured to the lower end of a vertical shaft 76 suitably mounted in hearings in the main frame, to the upper end of which is secured a horizontal lever 77 pivoted at its inner end to a pivoted lever 78, said lever 77 being provided at its other extremity with a lug 79 which travels in a recess 80 formed upon the under side of the lever 78 to permit a free or independent movement of one of said levers relatively to the other for a limited distance, for the purpose hereinafter described. From the extreme inner end of the lever 78 depends a lug 81 perforated at its lower end and engaging a rod 82 pivoted at its other end within a bearing 83 secured to the center of the main frame, a spiral spring encircling said rod and confined thereon at one end by a pin 84 and at the other endby the lug 81. The bevel gears 67 and 68 are adapted to al- ICC ternately engage a bevel gear 85 rigidly secured to the lower end of a vertical shaft 86, which, at its upper end carries a cog wheel 87, which meshes with a similar cog wheel 88, the latter, in turn, meshing with the'interiorly cogged turn table 2. The extreme outward and lower ends of the segments 8 are notched or bifurcated within which are fitted or secured the knotted ends of ropes, cables or bands 88 which pass around the peripheries of said segments and are then wound around the drums 12. Wound around the adjacent and smaller drums 13 are similar ropes,'cables onbands' 89, which are likewise secured to the inner lower ends of the segments 6.

To the spider frame 3 is secured an annular band 90 perforated at suitable points, as 91, and provided with downwardly projecting pins 92 adapted to engage the end ofv the lever 78 in the manner and for the purpose hereinafter described.

The operation of our improved device is as follows: The machine being in the position shown in Fig. 1, the tailer 24 resting under the rear or delivery end of the straw chute of the th rasher, the drive belts properly adjusted and the drive belt passing around the pulley 52 suitably connected to a driven pulley operated by the thrasher, the stacker is ready for operation. At first it will be unnecessary to either elevate or swing to either side the elevator frame, and therefore the cam lever will be thrown outwardly; thusdisengaging the clutches 58 and 59 allowing the wheel 56 to revolve idly around the shaft 57 without actuating the same. However, the pulley 52 will drive the shaft 51 and through the medium of the gears 49 and 50, shafts 42 and 45 and gears 43 and 44, will cause the revolution of the pulley 48, which is connected by abelt to the pulley 30 mounted on the shaft 28 carrying the pulleys 31 and will thus cause the carrier belt to travel over the elevator frame and carry off the straw. The pulley30, on said shaft communicates motion to the pulley 25 mounted on the shaft 21 carrying the eccentries 22, and the rotation of the shaft 21 will cause said eccentrics to communicate to the tailer 24 a reciprocating and rising and falling movement to deliver the straw as it emerges from the thrasher onto the carrier belt. When the straw has accumulated beneath the end of the elevator frame the cam lever 65 is thrown back,thus engaging the clutches 58 and 59 and causing the wheel 56 to be looked upon the shaft 57, thus communicating motion to said shaft, and the clutch 69 being in engagement with one of the loosely mounted bevel gears, as 67 causes said bevel gear to rotate the gear 85 and thus communicates motion to the cog wheels 87 and 88, which in turn cause the turn table 2 to revolve and swing the elevator frame around -to one side. When the turn table and elevator frame have been rotated a certain distance one of the pins 92 will engage the end of the lever 78 and by means of the tripping dog 74 throw the tripping lever 72 to one side and cause the clutch 69 to be dis-v engaged from the bevel gear 67 and engage the bevel gear 68 upon which the turn table will be revolved in the'opposite direction, until the other pin 92 engages the lever 78, when the clutch 69 will again engage the bevel gear 67, and the turn table will revolve back again, a swinging movement in an arc of a circle being thus automatically imparted to the elevator frame. By connecting the end of the lever 78 with the rod 82 and its. spring, and by loosely connecting the levers 77 and 78 as shown, all shock or strain is taken off the gearing when the swinging motion of the elevator frame is arrested and reversed, and when the clutch 69 is thrown from side to side to cause such reversal it will be held against one of the bevel gears 67 or 68 by the tripping dog 74 engaging one of the recesses in the yoke 73. When it is necessary to raise the elevator frame the crank 20 is turned, which, through the medium of the gearing before described rotates the shaft 11 carrying the drums 12 and 13, causing the drums 12 to wind up the ropes or cables 88, thus swinging the segments 8 about their centers and raising the outer end of the elevator frame, and at the same time the rope or cable 89 unwinds from the drum 12. Owing to the weight of the elevator frame it swings the lever-arms rearwardly from their pivots as the cable 89 is unwound, thus raising and moving rearwardly the elevator frame, and in lowering the elevator frame the drum 12 winds up the cable 89 and pulls said frame and lever-arms downward and forward.

Having described our invention, what we claim is 1. In a straw stacker, the combination with a turn table having two parallel lever-arms secured thereto, of an elevator frame having its lower receiving end pivoted to the other ends of said lever-arms, two parallel and upwardly extending segments secured to the turn table, two parallel and downwardly extending segments secured to the elevator frame, a transverse shaft mounted in bearings in the lever-arms, two sets of drums mounted on the transverse shaft, ropes or .cables wound upon said drums and connected to the ends of the segments, and mechanism forrotating said shaft, as shown and described. v

2. In a straw stacker, the combination with a turn table having two parallel lever-arms secured thereto, of an elevator frame having its lower receiving end pivoted to the other ends of said lever-arms, two parallel and upwardly extending segments secured to the turn table, two parallel and downwardly extending segments secured to the elevator frame, a transverse shaft mounted in bearings in the lever-arms and interposed between the oppositely arranged segments, two sets of drums of unequal diameter mounted on the transverse shaft ropes or cables wound upon said drums in opposite directions and connected to the ends of the segments, and mechanism for rotating said shaft, substantially as shown and described.

3. In a straw stacker, the combination with the turn table 2 having two parallel arms 9, 9, secured thereto, of an elevator frame having its lower receiving end secured to the other ends of said lever-arms, a shaft 28 mounted in hearings in the lever-arms and carrying at its extremities drive pulleys 29 and 30 and intermediate thereof pulleys 31 for actuating the carrier apron, a shaft 21 mounted in bearings in the upper extremities of the leverarms and carrying a drive pulley 25 and eccentrics 22, a tailor 24 having bearings about said eccentrics and connected by arms 27 to the lever arms, and a drive pulley 48 connected by a belt with apulley 30 and driven by mechanism adapted to be connected to a thrasher, substantially as shown and described.

4:. In a straw stacker, the combination with the elevator frame mounted on the interiorly cogged turn table 2 provided with an annular band 90 carrying pins 92, of a driven shaft 57 having loosely mounted thereon two bevel gears 67 and 68 engaging a gear 85,the latter gearing by suitable intermediate gears with the turn table, a double clutch 69 adapted to alternately engage the gears 67 and 68, a lever 72 connected to said clutch and provided with mechanism, substantially as shown, adapted to be alternately engaged by the pins 92 and actuate said clutch to automatically engage first one and then the other of the bevel gears 67 and 68, all constructed substantially as shown and described whereby the elevator will be automatically swung from one side to the other, for the purpose specified.

5. In combination with the interiorly cogged turntable 2 carrying an annular band 90 having pins 92 and having mounted thereon an elevator frame, of a driven shaft 57 having loosely mounted thereon two bevel gears 67 and 68, a gear engaged by said gears, intermediate gearing between the turntable and the gear 85, a double clutch 69 adapted to al ternately engage the gears 67 and 68, a pivoted trippinglever 72 connected to said clutch and provided with a yoke 73, a Y-shaped tripping dog adapted to oscillate within said yoke and mounted upon a shaft engaging a lever 78, alternately engaged by the pins 92, all constructed and arranged in such manner that the elevator frame will be automatically swung alternately from one side to the other for the purpose specified.

6. In combination with theinteriorly cogged turntable 2 carrying an annular band having pins 92, and having mounted thereon an elevator frame, of a driven shaft 57 having loosely mounted thereon two bevel gears 67 and 68 engaging a gear 85, said gear 85 driving the cog wheels 87 and 88, the cog wheel 88 meshing with the interiorly cogged turntable, a double clutch mounted on the shaft 57 and alternately engaging the gears 67 and 68, a pivoted tripping lever 72 connected to said clutch and provided with a yoke 73, a Y- shaped tripping dog 74 oscillating within said yoke and mounted upon a shaft carrying a lever 77 pivoted at its inner end to a lever 78, the lever 78, a pivoted rod 82 engaging the rod of the lever 78, a coiled spring arranged upon said rod, the free end of the lever 78 being alternately engaged by the pins 92, all constructed and arranged substantially as shown and described, whereby the elevator frame is automatically swung from one side to the other.

7. The combination of the interiorly cogged turntable 2 carrying an annular band 90 having pins 92, and having mounted thereon an elevator frame, a driven shaft 51 carrying a worm gear 53 meshing with a cog wheel 54 driving a cog wheel 56 loosely mounted upon a shaft 57 and provided with ratchet teeth ongaged by a sliding clutch 59 keyed to said shaft 57, means for operating said clutch gears 67 and 68 loosely mounted upon the shaft 57, a clutch alternately engaging said gears, a train of gears interposed between and meshin gwith the gears 67 and 68 and the interiorly cogged turntable and operating to rotate the turntable, and a tripping lever alternately engaged by the pins 92 to automatically shift the clutch, all constructed and arranged substantially in the manner shown and described and for the purpose specified.

In testimony whereof we affix our signatures in presence of two witnesses.

SAML. BUFKIN. CYRUS SNYDER. Witnesses:

O. E. THOMAS, (J. G. CASE. 

